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Details revealed in Vienna cop investigation
VIENNA
A Trumbull County grand jury indicted Vienna police Sgt. Michael Sheehy Friday on charges including possession of drugs, breaking and entering and theft in office.
Sheehy, 32, became the Mathews schools resource officer last September. Before that, he had been the Drug Abuse and Resistance Education officer for the district. He is one of just two full-time officers at the township police department.
Seven counts in the indictment revolve around incidents at the police department within the past 10 days, according to court documents. The eighth count in the indictment alleges Sheehy trespassed on Mathews High School property Dec. 16 to commit theft.
Sheehy was indicted on grand theft and theft in office charges for taking two AR-15 rifles from the department without consent Jan. 23.
He was indicted on petty theft, possession of criminal tools and breaking and entering charges for removing $700 from a police vehicle with a lockout kit Monday, the court documents said.
Township Police Lt. Brian Darbey filed a criminal complaint about the theft incidents Tuesday in Girard Municipal Court.
The indictment also accuses Sheehy of possessing fentanyl, a Schedule 2 opioid drug, on Tuesday. Girard Municipal Court Judge Jeffrey Adler ordered Sheehy to complete an in-patient recovery program at First Step Recovery the same day.
After Sheehy was arrested Monday for the thefts, he spent the night at the Trumbull County jail. His cash bond of $15,000 was posted Tuesday, and he was placed on house arrest and ordered to receive rehabilitation.
Township police Chief Bob Ludt was not available Friday to comment on the indictments. On Thursday, he refused to comment on the investigation.
The Vindicator requested police reports about the theft and drug possession incidents at the police department from Darbey, but he said only Ludt is authorized to release reports, and he wouldn’t return to the police department until Monday.
Mathews schools Superintendent Russell McQuaide said Friday the school district decided it will “not have officer Sheehy returning to the school district.”
He said the decision does not reflect presumption of guilt or relate to Sheehy’s due process rights, but he said, “We want to make sure we have people who fit our school district appropriately. Circumstances have made it so that we don’t have an appropriate fit at this point.”
There will still be substitute officers at the school district until a new resource officer is selected.
“There is no gap in service regarding the safety and protection of our students,” McQuaide said. “The school works very quickly to handle this. Everything, as far as we can tell, was appropriately handled, so now we have to allow due process to take its course.”
In December, when Ludt learned of the school allegation from McQuaide, he turned the investigation over to the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation.
David O’Neil, BCI spokesman, said the report from the investigation will be released once the agency receives the closing letter from the county prosecutor’s office.
Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins was unavailable Friday.
Chris Becker, the county’s assistant prosecutor, said Sheehy’s arraignment in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court will be at 11 a.m. Friday.
Township Administrator Phil Pegg said he has no comment on the investigation until the Monday night trustees meeting.